Quidditch Dreams
by TheLestrangeMistress
Summary: Oliver was standing in the middle of Puddlemere United's stadium waiting for his try out to start. He was so nervous that he thought he might fall off his broom once he got on it.


**A/N: This fic is for the Going, Going, Gone! Challenge for the prompt First Line: "I'm sorry. You didn't quite make the cut.", and the Insane house challenge for the prompt Quaffle. It's 922 words.**

"I'm sorry. You didn't quite make the cut."

"Thank you for giving me the chance to try out," Oliver said before walking out of the Montrose Magpies stadium.

Oliver Wood had known that it would be tough to get a spot as a reserve on one of the top teams in the league, but being rejected by three teams already made him feel depressed.

Even though he had been a great keeper for the Gryffindor team, the professional teams were a world apart and Oliver had to think really hard if he was prepared to pursue his dreams.

He had always wanted to be a quidditch player since before he went to Hogwarts and once he was on the Gryffindor team that desire only strengthened. It had meant the world to Oliver that McGonagall had made him captain in his fifth year. For someone to have that much confidence in him - even at Hogwarts - made him feel happy.

"How did it go, dear?" his mother asked.

"I didn't make the cut."

"I'm sorry, Oliver. Was that the last club you were auditioning for?"

"I don't know. I sent off a letter to Puddlemere United but I haven't heard back from them yet," he replied trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

"You got a letter from them when you were out. I left it on the table for you," she said softly. "No matter what happens, Oliver, we love you."

"Thank you, mum," he said quietly.

As he walked through to the kitchen, Oliver prayed that he had managed to get a try out for them. He had initially resisted sending Puddlemere a response to their ad asking for reserves because they were the team he had supported since he was a kid and he couldn't face them rejecting him.

Picking the letter up, Oliver carefully opened it.

 _Dear Mr Wood,_

 _We received your letter and we have arranged you to try out for our reserve keeper on Wednesday 25th July at 10.00am. If for any reason you cannot attend please notify us immediately so we can reschedule._

 _Regards_

 _Philbert Deverill_

"What does it say?"

"They've given me a time and date for a try out," Oliver said putting the letter back in the envelope.

"That's brilliant. I'm really happy for you son."

A few weeks passed and Oliver was standing in the middle of Puddlemere United's stadium waiting for his try out to start. He was so nervous that he thought he might fall off his broom once he got on it.

 _Imagine I'm at Hogwarts and we're training for our match against Slytherin, he thought._

"Now, Oliver, this is our reserve team. Holly Smith, Noel Fields, and Anna Harris are our three chasers, then there is Tyler Brown and Andrew Carter who are beaters. We are currently holding try outs for seeker as well so we have Benjy Williams filling in," Philbert said introducing him to everyone.

"Hello," he said to all of them.

"I would like to do some simple drills with the chasers first just to see your basic skills and then we can increase the difficulty from there. If I think you are at the level we need then we will do some drills with the rest of the team," he explained.

"No problem. Which set of goals do you want me at first?" Oliver asked finally feeling excited.

"The left ones please."

After testing his basic skills Philbert asked him to move to the right set of hoops and made the chasers come at him faster and harder than they had before. Sometimes he would have them send more than one quaffle at him to see how fast he could move from one hoop to another.

All of them were called back to the ground about an hour later with may of the team wishing him luck as they went to their changing rooms.

"I'm really impressed with you, Oliver. You cover all the hoops nicely and are pretty fast when faced with more than one quaffle coming at you. You also work really well with the team. When can you start to practice with us?" Philbert asked.

"I can start straight away," he replied beaming.

The two of them walked to a large office inside the stadium where he went over and signed the contract agreeing to play for them, and then they went saw a middle aged woman named Mrs Mace was sorting out the new uniforms for the team. She took his measurements and assured him that his new uniform would be there by the end of the month.

"Everything you need to know about schedules, training, and general information about the teams are in this pack. Please make sure you read them before you come to practice next time. As your uniform won't be ready for a few weeks then feel free to wear your Hogwarts one at practice," Philbert informed him.

"Thank you very much, and I will," Oliver said shaking the other man's hand.

He still couldn't quite believe that he had been made reserve keeper after his first try out, but was ecstatic that he would be playing for the team he had supported since he was a child.

Oliver was more than glad that he hadn't written back to them and cancelled his try out at the last minute. Nerves had nearly got in the way of pursuing his dreams but Oliver was pleased that he had pushed through and had been rewarded for it.


End file.
